Last evening, Dad and I gathered with our builder, Meredith Hendrickson,
his wife Sylvia, our friends John (Shirley was working), Veronica, Kenneth
and Quincy, Jackie and Curtis and the Bowrins: Lee, Dexter, Deanza, Spencer
and Denrieke to break ground for our dream and unbelievable adventure which
lies ahead. It was a lovely, cool evening with champagne, Caribbean spiced-flavored
home-baked cakes and sparkling cider for those who do not drink alcohol.
Lee and Meredith toasted, both quoting from the Bible and invoking God's
blessings for health, peace and harmony with the same respect and fondness
for one another when we move in as we have now for each other. The breeze
sent a peacefulness from the mountain behind us as we watched the sunset
in front of us, dug our first shovel of dirt a and thanked God for the
blessings of each other, our families and friends and the blessings of
our new home and Nevisian family. It was an unbelievable moment filled
with a sense of overflowing gratitude as toasts were exchanged, children
played in the dirt, friends chatted and photos taken to chronicle that
we had begun. Lee was leaving a few days later for California and I would
remain for three more weeks. We would then take turns coming once a month
until completion, slated October 31, 1999 barring no uninvited hurricanes
to the island. It was a dream and felt surreal, but the most natural venture
that Lee and I had embarked upon in our thirty-six years as husband and
wife. On his way to Los Angeles, Lee stopped in Florida to choose doors
and windows and said on the phone to me, "Ruthie, some people may think
we are crazy for doing this, but you and I know that we are crazy if we
don't." And so we began.